This document relates to monitoring vehicle activity, and more particularly to utilizing a wireless device to communicate with a vehicle and monitor activities related to the vehicle.
As wireless communications have improved, wireless communication implementations have expanded beyond merely personal communications. One area where wireless communications have been implemented recently is in vehicular based communications, specifically communication systems where information relating to a specific vehicle are collected and transmitted from the vehicle to a central collection agency. One example of this implementation is the OnStar® system.
OnStar functions by integrating a wireless communication device into a vehicle along with a global positioning system (GPS) and several additional sensors. A driver or passenger in the vehicle uses this device to directly contact an OnStar operator for various services, e.g., obtaining directions or information about the area the vehicle is in based upon the GPS. OnStar also provides a collision detection feature where the OnStar operator is contacted if the vehicle has been in a crash. For example, a vehicle sensor may monitor whether a vehicle's airbags have deployed which could indicate a crash situation such as a frontal collision, a side impact, a rollover, etc. In the event of airbag deployment, an OnStar operator may be contacted, and the OnStar operator may follow a set of protocols such as contacting the police or emergency medical services.
Typical vehicle based wireless communication systems, such as OnStar, have their drawbacks. One such drawback is the communication device is integrated into the vehicle, i.e., the device is not removable from the vehicle for portable use in other applications. This requires each vehicle covered by the system to have an individual communication device. Another drawback is difficulty in converting vehicles without communication systems or upgrading the systems as technologies become obsolete. For example, all analog versions of OnStar were deactivated on Feb. 18, 2008. This required all OnStar users with the analog system in their vehicle to either update to a digital version of OnStar, or end their service for that particular vehicle. Similarly, many collision detection systems detect airbag deployment as an indication of a collision, however, many older vehicles do not include airbags. Additionally, these communications devices work with vehicles having an integrated electronic diagnostic system (e.g., a series of sensors and other electronics used to monitor the current status of a vehicle), and are not compatible with vehicles without such systems, e.g., a bicycle.